Pure Misguidings
by Blackberry Blossoms
Summary: The story takes place after the defeat of Naraku. It seems that with all their free time, everyone's able to get up to mischief and...romance?
1. The Lead Up

Five years after Kagome was first dragged down the well, a huge battle took place between Naruku's forces and, well, the rest of Japan. Many we injured; even more were killed, but in the end, he was ripped to pieces, slaughtered at the hands of those who had been wronged by him. They fought against him, brought together by the same goal - to destroy the half-demon who had ruined their lives, one way or another. Inuyasha's group, the wolf-clans, even Sesshoumaru, along with a huge number of humans and demons alike. This story takes place just afterwards, where the survivors are struggling to tend to their wounds…

Kagome crawled over to where Inuyasha lay, covered in heavily bleeding wounds. She summoned up the last of her strength, and a warm, pink light bathed Inuyasha's body. His injuries closed up enough for his own body to be able to cope, and with that, Kagome collapsed onto him. His eyes flickered open, and he sat up quickly, regretting it soon afterwards. He winced, but managed to hold Kagome to him.

"Kagome. Are you alright?" he said, alarmed. He shook her slightly. "Answer me, please!"

She stirred slightly, grimacing as she fought to open her eyes. "I'm…ok…if…you are."

Inuyasha's eyes softened. "I'm fine, thanks to you. But that was stupid, I can handle these wounds, they're nothing. It's not worth it if you kill yourself saving me."

"I'm…still alive. What…happened…to…the others…and…the Shikon shards…Naraku had?" she forced the words out.

"Do you remember what happened when we'd first met? The arrow you shot at the crow-demon?"

"Yes." Kagome replied, stomach dropping.

"Do you remember what finally killed Naraku? The arrow you shot at him?"

"…yes…"

"…Same effect." Inuyasha finished sheepishly, wincing again as pain lanced up his side.

"Wonderful…" Kagome murmured as the last of her strength finally faded, and she slumped against Inuyasha.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha looked down at her, panicking slightly. He held a hand against her cheek and was relieved to find she was still breathing, although it was shallow.

"Inuyasha…" Inuyasha turned his head slowly. Miroku was dragging himself along, half-supporting Sango. Too tired to be perverted, he had wrapped an arm around her, the other around Kirara.

"Where's Shippo?" Inuyasha asked him.

"Just…behind Kagome." Shippo said feebly. Inuyasha mentally grumbled as he had to move his head again, but was somewhat relieved when he saw Shippo half-passed out just next to Kagome.

Behind a melting lump of Naraku's flesh just to their right, Sesshoumaru sat up with a low groan, noting that Jaken was unconscious nearby.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha tried calling out.

"What?" Sesshoumaru snapped.

"I was going to thank you, but with that attitude, forget it." Inuyasha muttered, knowing that Sesshoumaru would hear every word.

"I don't want your thanks, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru replied. He sat there still, unmoving.

Noticing this, Miroku shook his head and fell to the ground. "Can any of us move?" he mumbled into the dirt.

"Doubtful." Sango replied, collapsing next to him, narrowly missing landing on her wounded arm.

"Kikyo…?" Inuyasha trailed off, watching the undead priestess approach them. She was half-transparent, and appeared completely unhurt.

"When I lent my strength to my reincarnation, I was unaware that this selfless act would be my downfall." she said dryly. "However, what was meant to be will happen. Inuyasha, while Naraku was still alive, the hatred he placed into my heart could not be touched. Now that he is dead, I have released it. I…am sorry," she added, "for all the trouble I have caused you. A parting gift, for each of you…half from me, half from the destruction of Naraku."

"Firstly, demon born of Naraku." Kikyo said. "Kagura, I know you are there, but cannot move. Know that you are free. Completely free." Kagura shifted slightly, trying to respond, but was too weak to do so. Kikyo shook her head. "There is no need to thank me, but you might like to apologise to the wolf Kouga, whose kin you murdered."

"For you, monk." Kikyo turned to Miroku. A white light left her body, and she flickered, growing dimmer, as it was absorbed by his right hand. "No longer will the curse be a threat to you or your family. You still have the weapon, but it will never consume you."

"Thank you." Miroku smiled, fainting. A light smile graced Kikyo's lips, and she shook her head slightly.

"Sango, your brother's life." she said simply, moving aside to let a living Kohaku walk forward to hug his sister, crying. "But, only your brother." she said softly. "Your family, your village…"

"I understand." Sango said, closing her eyes and hugging Kohaku back.

"Sesshoumaru-sama." Kikyo turned to the silent observer. "Your arm back. I believe you will need it, in the future."

Sesshoumaru nodded his thanks, watching as his arm materialised.

"Inuyasha…my gift to you is the knowledge that I have forgiven you, and that I ask for your forgiveness in return. I will trouble you no longer, and I will let you go."

"Kikyo…"

"This…this ties in with Kagome. I will no longer exist." she interrupted him. She had grown almost non-existant, fading with each good fortune that fell upon the others. "She is the rightful…owner…of her soul, if I can put it that way. She will become the protector of the Jewel of the Four Souls, and in return for her kindness, strength and love…I give her…my power." she whispered the last, and faded completely.

"Kikyo…" Inuyasha murmured. "Thanks. From all of us."

A week later, Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Shippo, Jaken, Sesshoumaru, Kohaku and Kouga (God that's a pain to type…) stood at the edge of the clearing where the battle had taken place. A warm breeze stirred the grass, forced to stop at the jagged earth that had been torn up by the attacks on Naraku. There was no trace of him now, and each of them stood silently, lost in their own thoughts.

"Hey." Kouga said, stepping forward. "I'm going back up to the mountains."

Kagome turned to look at him, giving him a questioning look.

"Yeah." Kouga replied, knowing what she wished to ask him. "I…will keep my promise to Ayame. She deserves it, and she saved my life during the fight. She's strong, and I think…I've grown to love her. I'll always love you though, Kagome." he winked.

"Oi…stick to your own kind." Inuyasha seethed.

"Inuyasha…Kagome's not half-dog." Kouga said, feigning innocence. He jumped out of the way just as Inuyasha's fist almost connected with his face. "Can I keep these, until you really need them?" he asked Kagome, indicating the shards that he'd managed to keep.

"Sure." Kagome replied. "We trust you."

Inuyasha muttered something in response to this, but Kouga grinned. "Good." He took off, stirring up leaves as he headed towards his new life. Kagome smiled as she watched him go. '_He'll be a good match for Ayame, and she'll keep him in control very well..._'

Kohaku stood with his sister, petting Kirara absentmindedly. There were shadows under his eyes, the only physical evidence that proved his nightmares. Sango had an arm around his shoulders, and gave a quizzical look to Miroku, who looked torn between saying something to her and moving closer to her.

Kagome leant against Inuyasha, closing her eyes as another breeze ran through her hair. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer. Sesshoumaru snorted. "Like father, like son, Inuyasha. How wonderful."

Inuyasha shot him a murderous look, but Kagome's eyes widened. "Sesshoumaru-sama…where is Rin-chan?"

Sesshoumaru glanced at her. "She is at the village of the old priestess, with Jaken. Why do you-" he stopped, hearing shouts coming from the very same village. Soon after, Jaken came tearing through the forest, screeching something about Rin being kidnapped.

"Shit…all the demons have come out of hiding now that Naraku is gone." Inuyasha muttered. Rin's scream pierced the air, and Sesshoumaru was gone in a flash.

"Inuyasha! We have to go help."

"Why would I help my brother?" Inuyasha looked at Kagome incredulously.

"…for Rin-chan." she said quietly.

He groaned resignedly, then let her climb onto his back. He raced after Sesshoumaru, shortly joined by Sango and Kohaku on Kirara. Miroku and Shippo sighed, running after the others.

"Hey! Why do we always have to run ourselves?" Miroku yelled after them.

"Because you could use the exercise!" Sango called back.


	2. Sesshoumaru

**Sesshoumaru.**

I heard Rin's scream, and I didn't hesitate at all. Even now, I'm unsure why I chose to save her, or even why I still take care of her. I guess my father's genes have affected me, too. '_At least I'm not going to fall in love with a human_.' I scoffed at the thought.

I felt the presence of my idiot half-brother and his companions catching up to me. A week later and I still hadn't recovered from the fight with Naraku…so I couldn't run nearly as fast as I should have been able to.

"Sesshoumaru-samaaa!" Rin wailed. "Help meee! Jaken-sama!"

'_Hmm…where is Jaken…_' I thought. '_Oh well, no time for that toad now._'

Rin had stopped screaming now, but this just made me more worried. '_Worrying over a human child…_' I shook my head. '_What's become of me..?_'

I burst through the clearing, now with Inuyasha and that girl called Kagome right behind me. The three of us stopped short, however, as a larger-than-normal cat leapt onto the back of the huge rat demon that held Rin in a paw, growling ferociously.

"That's not Kirara…" Kagome murmured.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Inuyasha said sarcastically. "Because it's not like Sango's behind us now."

Kagome and I turned as Sango, Kirara and Kohaku arrived. Miroku ran into Sango, having tripped over a bush, and Shippo bounded over to Kagome.

"What's happening…who…what is that?" Shippo asked Kagome, pointing to the cat attacking the rat demon.

'_Why is a cat demon defending Rin…they're fighting over food?_' I realised suddenly. I decided to wait until one was dead, since there was no need to use up energy fighting two when I could kill one.

The cat growled again, sinking its teeth into the rat's neck. The rat flung it off, and it hit a tree. I could see quite clearly that the force of the throw had broken the cat's jaw.

'_What…?_'

The cat hissed, and its claws scratched every possible area as it leapt onto the rat again. A quick glanced showed that Kagome and Shippo were looking horrified, as the others tensed, waiting for something to happen. The rat turned as the cat sped up, then growled as the cat demon literally crashed into its side. I raised a hand, severing the rat's neck with the poisonous whip I so often relied upon. I flipped out of its way just as Kagome ran over, Inuyasha yelling at her to stay away. She glared at him briefly before just avoiding being crushed, and she froze. I shook my head at her stupidity, then ran forward and caught Rin just before she hit the ground.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she squealed, hugging me tightly. I set her down, allowing Kagome to fuss over her, knowing Rin liked the attention. They had been introduced before the huge fight, and I was well aware of how much Kagome and Sango fawned over her. I was extremely wary, however, and waited for the cat demon to strike. A weak yowl came from under the rat's shoulder, and just as it dissipated, I realised I had been right at first - it _had_ been defending Rin.

Rin's eyes widened, and she struggled out of Kagome's hug. She moved closer to the cat demon, amid gasps of shock, and just as I was about to reach over and pull her away, she tugged at the cat's fur gently.

"Chasuki-chan…?" she said softly. Then, louder, "Sukiii-chaaan?"

"Eh? Chasuki-chan?" Kagome looked puzzled. "Rin, do you know this…yeeek!" she jumped back as the cat demon twitched slightly. A pink tongue licked at Rin's hand gently, and the cat tried to stand. Collapsing, its transformation faded, leaving behind an unconscious woman.

"It's…a woman." Kagome said, startled.

'_Really? I never would have guessed..._'

"Chasuki-chan…" Rin said. "Was this all to save me…?" Chasuki groaned, then passed out.

I sighed inwardly. Rin was now thirteen, and the years that had passed since I had first rescued her had seen her growing up to be an intelligent but rather troublesome young lady. Even now I was pretty sure she had no idea how many people would fight to protect her.

"We should take her back to the village." I heard Kagome say. "After all, she helped Rin-chan."

"What? The village is where she was attacked, don't be stupid." Inuyasha retorted.

"Well then where?" Kagome replied.

"Uh…that is…" Inuyasha said, lost for words for once.

"We can go back to our home, right Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin said cheerfully, looking up at me.

'_Oh…no. No. No, no, no. No way in hell, Rin. No. We can get those scratches of yours fixed, but otherwise, no._'

"Ok, Sesshoumaru-sama?" she repeated, giving me that infernal pleading look.

I sighed quietly. I turned and started walking in the direction of the Western castle after picking up the unconscious woman.

"Yay!" Rin cheered. She grabbed Kohaku and Shippo and literally started dragging them along. They were her best friends, actually, and they soon fell into step beside her.

Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha and Kagome were left to stare at our backs, then catch up with us.

"Wait a minute!" Kagome called out. "Can I at least fix her up a bit?"

"It can wait, she's a demon." I muttered. "She's not weak like you."

Kagome glared, but couldn't really do much to me. "Fine, but don't blame me when…when." she retreated sheepishly, having noticed that I was right, as usual, and that most of Chasuki's wounds were already started to heal up.

'_Why am I doing this?_' I wanted to stop right there and hit myself over the head. I was so weak when it came to what Rin wanted, she was that spoilt…

'_Some great Lord I am…_'


	3. Inuyasha

**Inuyasha.**

Five hours later, I was getting annoyed. Really annoyed. I was ready to kill something. Sesshoumaru refused us the right to rest. So what if his castle was really close?

'_Who cares anyway?_' I shot him glares every now and then. I would have killed him, too. Except Kagome was asleep on my back…

"Feh."

Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly towards. "If you are tired from carrying her, why don't you just stay behind?"

"_I'm_ not tired. _They_ are." I retorted, jabbing a finger in the direction of Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kohaku and even Kirara.

"We are almost there." he replied. Rin was asleep in the furry piece of…I mean…his mokomoko (1). I glared at him again, but I saw his castle was actually quite close, like he'd said. So I let it go.

'_Feh…hanging around Kagome too much has made me soft._' This tolerance thing was annoying too.

-----------------------------------------

We arrived at the door to Sesshoumaru's castle only five minutes later, the others lagging behind holding in yawns. A guard at the door made way for us with a deep bow to Sesshoumaru, and our feet made soft thuds on the ground as we followed him into the more protected parts of the building.

"Your woman, this cat and the demon slayer can stay here." Sesshoumaru said, stopping at a room and putting the cat demon Chasuki on a bedroll. "The monk and yourself can stay in the one next to it. That boy and the fox, they can stay here, in between Rin's room and the women." He turned and melted into the shadows, leaving us with little option. Kohaku and Shippo trudged into their room without a word as Sesshoumaru actually showed compassion and tucked Rin in. Sango swayed over to her bedroll and was asleep instantly. I think Miroku had collapsed onto his the minute he found it. I laid Kagome down and pulled a blanket over her, stifling a yawn myself as I did so. The last thing I remember is almost laughing as I glanced over at Miroku, because I'm pretty sure that sleeping in such a position would be really painful in the morning.

-----------------------------------------

I regretted my words later though, because Miroku had rolled over and, lucky me, I'd woken up to his foot hitting me in the mouth. I jumped up, spluttering, and took my turn to wake _him_ up with a foot to the mouth.

"Ow…Inuyasha…" he groaned. "What was that for?"

"Idiot…" I muttered. I slid open the door to find Kagome standing right in front of me. Startled by her sudden appearance, I took a step backwards and crashed into Miroku.

"Shit, Inuyasha!" Miroku exclaimed. "For a dog demon, you're really not very alert, are you?"

"Shut up! What do you want?" I snapped at Miroku and Kagome respectively.

Kagome's face fell, and I instantly regretted yelling at her. I looked down and noticed she had a tray full of food.

"Sesshoumaru-sama let me into the kitchen and I thought I'd make you something…" she trailed off. She looked up and glared at me. "But if you're going to have an attitude like that, forget it." she stalked past me and gave the tray to Miroku. "Idiot."

"What! You're the one who just came barging in here!"

"I didn't barge in here! I was about to knock on the door when _you_ came charging out like you were going to kill something!"

"I did not! I opened the door, I didn't expect to see you there!"

"Shut up! Idiot!" Kagome screamed at me, eyes shut and hands curling into fists by her side.

"You're kinda cute when you're angry…" I murmured, looking her up and down. "And really, very pretty in normal clothing…" I added, noticing the light kimono she was wearing.

"…What?" she took a step back.

I grinned at her, then turned and stole some food from Miroku's plate.

"This is delicious, Kagome-sama." Miroku said, stuffing his face. I was too busy doing the same thing to reply, but she knew I liked it, I'm sure.

I looked up to see her still standing there with a somewhat shocked expression. I knew she hadn't expected me to say anything like that to anyone in my life, but the truth was, she and Kikyo were both so different… '_I don't know how I didn't see it before…or maybe I was denying it because of what Naraku did…to try to make things right between me n' Kikyo…?_' I sighed. '_Idiot, it's not like she _loves_ you._'

"Something wrong?" I asked her.

"No…n..nothing." she stammered, backing out.

I shrugged and kept eating, then stopped as I realised Miroku was staring at me. "I know something's wrong with you…"

"Inuyasha…you truly are an idiot…"

-----------------------------------------

(1) For those who don't know, it's that fluffy boa around his shoulder that has led to his unfortunate nickname, Fluffy.


	4. Kagome

**Kagome.**

I stormed back into the room where Sango and Chasuki were, muttering rather cruel things about Inuyasha.

'_Idiot…Inuyasha…_' I seethed. I tripped over one of my shoes and kicked it into a wall in a fit. Sango twitched, backing away from me slightly. Kirara was tipped out of her lap in the process, and she mewed in protest.

"Ah, sorry Sango…" I said sheepishly. '_Calm down…_'

"Something wrong?" Sango asked me, echoing Inuyasha's earlier question.

"No. Everything's fine." I lied, feigning cheerfulness. Truth be told, I had been meaning to talk to Inuyasha about our somewhat foggy relationship. Now that Kikyo was…free, in a way…

'_What am I saying? I already know I love him…all I need to do now is find out if he really does love me back…_'

"Kagome, what should we do about Chasuki-san…?" Sango asked me, sitting closer now that I'd stopped trying to destroy innocent footwear.

"Hmm…should we wait until she's awake?" I replied, glancing over to where she lay. She was a complete mystery to all of us, except Rin, apparently. "I wonder where Rin knows her from…"

"I don't know either, obviously. We may as well wait until she wakes up. Then we can get both her _and_ Rin to talk to us."

"Good point." I mused. I stood as the door slid open, and Kohaku, Shippo and Rin wandered in. "Oh, hi!" I smiled at them. Shippo and Rin ran over to hug me as Kohaku walked over to Sango and started playing with Kirara.

"She's still hurt, I think," I said to Rin, who was looking over at Chasuki.

"Oh…" Rin trailed off. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's ok, no one blames you at all." Sango reassured her. Rin remained quiet, however, still worrying about Chasuki's state.

Miroku slid open the door to admit both himself and Inuyasha, and I got a terrible idea...

"Hey, Rin, do you remember what I can do to Inuyasha?" I said suddenly.

Inuyasha gulped. The last time Kagome had wanted to cheer Rin up…

"Yaaay!" Rin cheered. "Sit! Sit!"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha began, "However I offended you earlier, I'm sor-"

"Sit."

"Yeow! What was that for!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Oh…nothing." I replied innocently.

The door slid open once again, and Sesshoumaru walked in silently, Jaken close behind.

"What are you all doing standing around like this?" Jaken glared at us all. '_Such a grumpy toad…_'

"Jaken. Go outside."

"…Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken said, muttering as he stalked out of the room.

Sesshoumaru glanced over at Chasuki, patting Rin on the head as she ran over to hug him. He walked over and tipped the contents of a glass vial into her mouth. She spluttered soon afterwards, sitting up with a gasp.

"Wh…what?"

"Suki-chaaan!" Rin yelled. I don't think that girl can be quiet…

"Rin-sama." 'Suki' replied, bowing her head.

"Rin-_sama!_" was the first thing that popped into my head, and I wasn't the only one to say it, either. She blinked, as if she'd only just realised we were all here.

"Rin-sama, who…ah, Sesshoumaru-sama." she said, bowing to him as well.

"How do you know who I am?" he replied, eyes narrowing.

"You are the Lord of the Western Lands, yes?" she asked.

"Yes."

"My hometown is in an area under your rule, I think you had alliances with our rulers. I mean no harm or disrespect," she added, probably just in case.

Rin was jumping around now, extremely excited that this woman had woken up. I silently took in her appearance. For a demon, she looked almost as human as myself. Large brown eyes, taller than me, normal limbs, no tail…The only odd thing about her was the electric blue streaks running through her short black hair, and I bet I could find people like that in the modern-day Japan I lived in.

"So, who are you all?" Chasuki said, looking around the room.

Rin pointed to us in turn. "Kagome-chan, Inuyasha-san, Shippo-chan, Kohaku-kun, Sango-chan, Miroku-san, Sesshoumaru-sama, Kirara…Jaken-sama went outside…"

She nodded to each of us as our names were given. "I am Chasuki. Suki is fine." she glanced at Rin. "I am glad you are safe, Rin-sama."

"How do you know Rin and what were you doing?" Sesshoumaru said, relaxing only the slightest bit. I rolled my eyes. '_He's so suspicious…_'

"Can I eat first?" she said calmly. "I'm kinda hungry. I can explain everything afterwards."

He tensed, but gave in, partially because Rin was already leading her towards the kitchen. When I say kitchen, of course, I mean small area where one can cook…

I followed, interested in the newcomer, and everyone else trailed behind.

-----------------------------------------

Moments later, I entered the 'kitchen' just as Chasuki sat on the floor, tearing into a rat she'd pulled out from behind a door. I gagged, turning away, and found myself almost up against Inuyasha. Blushing, I moved away, waiting for Chasuki to finish eating it.

"Oh, sorry…Kagome-san, was it?"

"Just Kagome," I replied, still not looking.

"You can look now. I'm a fast eater, and that was a pretty fat rat." she said after a moment. "Sorry again."

"That's fine," I replied, grinning.

Sango sat next to me with Miroku on her other side. Inuyasha stood behind me. Kohaku and Shippo seemed more interested in playing with Rin, and we left the three of them to run around in the small garden next to where we were.

Sesshoumaru stood in a corner, waiting. Chasuki looked up at him and nodded.

"I have known Rin since she was born. I've known her mother since she was born too." This simple sentence had quite the effect on the room. We all fell silent, something very unusual for us, and we waited for her to continue.

"It's a long story, so get comfortable."

-----------------------------------------

Oh yes, I just realised: 

To clear confusion about ages, in case I don't later on:

Inuyasha - Looks 20, is around 250.

Shippo - Looks 12, is 60+

Chasuki - Looks 23, is over 700

Sesshoumaru - Looks 25, is over 900

Kouga - Looks 20, is around 250

Ayame - Looks 19, is around 200

Kagura - Looks 19, is 5

Kagome - 20

Sango - 21

Miroku - 23

Rin - 13

Kohaku - 15

Naraku and his detachments (besides Kagura), plus Kikyo, are dead.

-----------------------------------------

Also:

**Name Translations**

**Inuyasha** - literally Dog Demon, can be read as Female/Lower Dog Demon.

**Sesshoumaru **- Destruction Man (I know, lol), Destruction of the Circle of Life, Perfect Destruction.

**Shippo** - With the correct pronunciation, his name means The Seven Treasures. Without the correct pronunciation, his name actually means Tail.

**Kagome** - No defined meaning, although it can be read as Woven Basket. (bwahahaha)

**Kikyo** - Chinese Bellflower.

**Chasuki** - Literally 'Refined/Elegant Taste in Tea'. Rin's nickname for her, Suki, is Chance.

**Miroku **- named for the predicted Buddha of the future, Maitreya Bodhisattva, called Miroku in Japanese.

**Sango** - Coral.

**Kohaku** - Amber, or Topaz.

**Rin** - Can be read as Companion.

**Jaken** - Wicked Perspective.

**Kouga** - Steel Fang.

**Ayame** - Iris.

**Kagura** - The Dance of the Gods.


	5. Chasuki

**Suki.**

I wasn't sure why I was so ready to tell these complete strangers all about my life…maybe it was because I was so sick and tired of being on my own for so long, unable to trust anyone. Also, Rin-sama was very trusting of all of them, and I knew I could trust her, at least. I sighed, and decided I may as well get on with it.

"As you may have noticed, I'm not human either. I was assigned to be the bodyguard of Rin, but I guess you could say I grew to be more of a babysitter and friend. Her mother and father were high upper-class members of our village. So high up they were practically royalty, now that I think about it. It was fine, for the first few decades of Rin's life. She's older than she looks, she just doesn't remember much of her childhood," I added, noting shocked expressions. I continued, "She was only eight when you first found her, Sesshoumaru-sama…sorry, but I've been checking up on her from time to time…anyway, as I said, all was fine for a while. Then we were betrayed, and someone let enemies in through the barrier. The entire village was destroyed, and most of us were killed…Rin's parents included. I got her out of there, but I was wounded badly. By the time I was conscious, Rin was gone. I tracked her down after a couple of years, and managed to piece together what had happened."

I took a breath. This wasn't registering very well, I could tell. Sango and Kagome looked horrified. "Sorry, would you like me to stop?"

"No…continue…" Sango replied as Kagome nodded mutely.

I glanced over at Sesshoumaru, who was silent as always.

"I was tripped over by some lowlife, and Rin fell out of my grasp." I covered my head with my hands. "Rin…might have ended up at some village nearby…"

"The village treated her like shit." Sesshoumaru muttered.

"I know." I replied. "Basically, though, that's the whole story. All I've been doing lately is keeping myself alive and keeping an eye on Rin. But…she's been fine, thanks to you." I added, looking up at Sesshoumaru.

"So…what species…is Rin?" Kagome asked, looking puzzled. "Is she a cat, like you?"

"Me?" I blinked. "I'm not a cat demon."

"What? But you…"

"Sorry. What I meant to say is, I'm not a full cat demon."

"Then what are you, if we might ask?" said…Miroku, I think his name was.

"Rin and I come from a rather…secretive clan..." I replied. What I meant was, I wasn't quite ready to trust them with that information.

"If Rin is a demon, then why doesn't it show?" Inuyasha said, sitting down next to Kagome. "She doesn't smell like it, doesn't look like it…she's human."

"No, she's just young. It's an evolved defensive strategy. When demons of our kind are young, they are masked as humans. She'll start looking and smelling like a demon in time. When she's…hm…about a century old, I think, so she has a while to go yet. I think she'd look to be…twenty, maybe, when this happens."

"How old are you, then?" Kagome blurted out. She looked down. "Um…that was rude."

"No, it's fine. I'm younger than Sesshoumaru-sama, in any case, but I don't know my exact age. I'd say at least seven hundred or so?"

"What!"

I shook my head, trying to get hearing back into my ear.

"Ah, sorry…" Kagome said awkwardly.

"Not a problem…" I murmured. "Anyway, thank you for taking care of me. I should probably get going."

I looked up as Rin ran into the room, followed by a weary-looking Kohaku and Shippo. "Suki-chan, show Kohaku your blades."

"Are you tiring out the boys, Rin-sama?" I said seriously. She looked down at her feet.

"A little…"

"'A little', she says…" muttered Shippo, sitting down with a loud thud.

"Can we play now, Suki-chan?" Rin changed the subject quickly.

I hesitated. I didn't want to impose on her companions, and yet I was already so comfortable here for some reason. However, manners came first. "Sorry, Rin-sama. I must leave now."

"Why?" came the reply. I was surprised to hear more than Rin's voice. I looked around. "Well, I can't stay here…"

"Sure you can, Suki-chan!" Rin said cheerfully. I blinked.

"Rin-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama will…" '_not allow it…_'

Rin twisted her head around and upside-down to look at Sesshoumaru-sama. "She can stay, right?"

I could tell what he was thinking. To the humans, his facial expression never changed. But I saw the smallest twitch, and I could tell he was extremely exasperated.

He sighed audibly. "Yes."

"Yay!" Rin ran around the table in circles. She pulled me up and dragged me outside. "Kohaku, Shippo, come on!"

Kagome followed, barely hiding a smile. Inuyasha was close behind her, and Sango and Miroku had no choice in the matter either. '_Don't these people ever…not…be with each other?_' Sesshoumaru-sama followed at a more seemingly pace, quietly keeping an eye on Rin for a moment before turning and heading back inside, presumably to tend to more lordly affairs.

Rin led us into a large open field. Dainty white and yellow flowers dotted the grass, and the crisp air was welcoming and refreshing.

She poked me in the side, and skipped away, laughing. I was unsure of what to do, and I realised everyone was running away from me. Rin tugged at my sleeve, and I leant over to allow her to whisper in my ear, "You're 'in' now. You have to tag someone else." And before I could reply, she skipped away, laughing.

I stood and looked around at everyone else. Kagome and Sango joined Rin in their laughter, catching her up and pulling her around the open space. Shippo and Kohaku raced after them. Inuyasha stood quite a way off, grinning, while Miroku gulped, as he was the closest to me.

"This is very undignified…" I muttered, rolling up my sleeves. I ran after Miroku, catching up to him easily.

"No fair!" he protested, trying to get me back. I dodged him and ran up to the others, and he stuck his tongue out at my back. "This is inhumane!" he cried out, trying to run after us.

"No, this is degrading." I called back. But looking around at all the friendly faces, I couldn't help but feel…sort of happy.


End file.
